I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to John 6:1-13
John 6:1-13 New International Version (NIV)
1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of
Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed
him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then
Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish
Passover Festival was near.
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said
to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this
only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages[a]
to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9
“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far
will they go among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in
that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus
then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as
much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples,
“Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they
gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley
loaves left over by those who had eaten.
-- we are
continuing our series on the miracles of Jesus as recorded in the Book of John
-- so far in this series, we have looked at the miracle of Jesus turning water
into wine -- demonstrating His showing His power over nature -- but, more
importantly, pointing to His reason for coming to earth as He converted the six
water jars from their intended use in purifying and cleansing the Jews to
holders of wine -- now that Jesus had come to purify and cleanse from within,
once and for all, there would be no need for ritual, external cleansings
-- the
second miracle we looked at was the healing of the official’s son -- and we saw
how Jesus used that opportunity to help the father put his faith in Jesus -- a
promise of healing was given, but the father had to have the faith to believe
and to go home to Capernaum without Jesus at his side, believing only in the
truth and promise found in Jesus’ words -- a message to us that we are to trust
Jesus and to believe what He says
-- the
third miracle was the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda -- and we saw
through this experience of healing the paralytic man how God’s prevenient grace
reaches out to us to bring us to a place of belief and healing in Jesus --
although this man was not a believer in Jesus, Jesus chose him from the crowd
and promised healing if he would but rise and pick up his mat and believe --
this healing act pointed to how Jesus died for us on the cross to offer healing
before we even knew Him, while we were still in our sins and living in unbelief
-- apart from Him and apart from faith
II. The Signs of the Miracle of Feeding the Five
Thousand
-- this
morning, we are looking at the fourth miracle recorded by John in his gospel --
the feeding of the 5,000 -- this is a very familiar story, and it’s an easy
story for us to hear without truly hearing -- to see without truly seeing --
remember, these miracles were not done simply for the sake of the miracle --
John tells us these miracles were semeions
-- they were “signs” -- the supernatural, dunamis
power of God being made manifest in an event for a reason -- to reveal Jesus as
Messiah -- to reveal an aspect of the purpose of His coming to earth and of His
continuing ministry to us
-- in this
miracle, we see three important things in this miracle I want you to keep in
mind as we look at this passage together
-- the
first is found in the element of the bread itself -- bread was the staple of
life -- it was the basic food of the people -- they depended on bread for their
sustenance and their very lives -- in the miraculous giving of the bread in
this passage, the people are reminded of how God fed the Israelites with manna
after they left Egypt, so this miracle is a very clear sign to the people that
Jesus is our God who provides
-- but
God’s providence reaches beyond the physical to the spiritual -- the manna in
the wilderness -- the bread that Jesus provides here -- and the bread at the
table in the Upper Room at the Last Supper all point to the supernatural,
spiritual sustenance that we only find in Him -- the bread is symbolic of
eternal life -- and to receive that eternal life, we must partake of Jesus --
we must receive Him into ourselves -- over in verse 35, Jesus declared, “I am
the bread of life -- He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who
believes in Me will never be thirsty -- and over in John 6:53, Jesus said,
“unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no
life in you”
-- so,
remember that this miracle is about much more than just feeding 5,000 hungry
people -- it’s a sign that we must receive Jesus in order to receive eternal
life
-- the
second theme in this passage once again revolves around faith -- in this case,
the faith of the disciples -- they have been with Jesus -- they have seen Jesus
do mighty things -- they have heard the words of Jesus -- they have sat at His
feet as He has taught -- but, did they truly see? -- did they truly hear? --
did they truly believe?
-- faith is
revealed by what we do with the words we receive -- faith is revealed in our
actions, not in what we profess with our lips -- as James said in James 2:17,
“faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” -- faith is
revealed only when we act on what we profess
-- in this
case, do the disciples of Jesus believe enough to step out in faith and feed
the 5,000 on their own?
-- which
brings us to the final point of this miracle -- Jesus was God -- He could have
fed the 5,000 men gathered there that day on His own, without any help from the
disciples or anyone else in the crowd, much the way He changed the water into
wine as the servants carried the cup to the steward of the wedding banquet --
but, in this miracle -- for the first time, Jesus involves His disciples -- He
tells them to feed the 5,000 -- this points to the ministry of the church, for
Jesus calls us today to minister and do great things in His name -- as He
directs and as He empowers
-- there
are many problems in this world today -- there is hunger and hurt -- sickness
and despair -- broken hearts and broken lives -- Jesus could take care of all
of that with a word -- Jesus could take care of all of that on His own -- but
He invites us into ministry with Him -- He has chosen His church to be His
hands and feet in this world -- the visible presence of Christ manifested
through His people of faith -- never forget that we are the body of Christ and
that Christ calls us to serve others in His name today in miraculous ways
-- with
that said, let’s move on and look at this passage again in more detail --
keeping in mind those three signs that are woven into this account of the
feeding of the 5,000
III. Scripture Lesson (John 6:1-13)
-- verse 1
-- “Some time after this” -- okay, let’s stop right there and let me
give you the context of this passage -- what is John referring to when he says,
“some time after this”
-- remember
the proper way to read a Bible passage is to first consider the passage in
context -- don’t take passages, or especially verses, on their own because that
can lead to a misunderstanding -- read them in context -- understand what came
before and after the passage and why God led the author of that Book to put
that chapter or verse in that particular place -- what was the setting of this
passage?
-- consider
the audience -- who was this passage written for? -- and how would they have
understood the words and the meaning of this passage? -- how would they have
interpreted this passage in their day?
--
understand all of that before you try to apply this to your own life today --
this will help you from reading into the Bible our 21st century biases -- it
will keep you from reading into passages and making them say what you want them
to say -- read the Bible to hear God -- to understand what He is saying to you
-- not reading it to make it say what you want or to affirm what you believe
-- so,
context -- “some time after this” -- after what?
-- as this
passage opens, Jesus has just been teaching and preaching in the streets of
Jerusalem -- in John 5 we read the account of how Jesus healed the paralytic
man next to the pool of Bethsaida
-- John
tells us that when the Pharisees heard of Jesus' healing of this man on the
Sabbath and Jesus' claims to be equal with God, they began to persecute Him and
question His authority
-- Jesus
responded by appealing to their faith -- He told them that they had the
testimony of John the Baptist -- they had the testimony of Moses -- and they
had the testimony of God the Father Himself through the Holy Scriptures -- all
of these, He said, point to me and to my purposes -- and the miracles support
the word of God -- the miracles are signs that these scriptures are fulfilled
in your sight
-- but, if
you don't believe in them -- if you don't have faith in them -- how are you
going to believe in what I say?
-- which
brings us to Chapter 6 -- this is a chapter about faith -- this is a chapter
that asks the question, "Are you going to believe in what Jesus
says?" -- it is a chapter that questions the faith and the belief of all
those around Him, even that of the disciples -- this account of the miracles of
feeding the 5,000 is just a sign that Jesus uses to point people to Him in
faith
-- and, let
me take this opportunity to encourage you to go home today and read the rest of
this chapter -- to see how this miraculous sign was used to call people to true
faith in Jesus
-- back to
verse 1
1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of
Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed
him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick.
-- John
tells us that great crowds began to follow Jesus at this time -- but, they’re
not following Jesus because of who He is -- they’re following Jesus because of
what He was giving out -- they were coming for the miracles -- they were coming
because they had seen Him heal the sick
-- why do
we come? -- why is it we gather together on a Sunday morning? -- are we coming
because of Jesus -- or are we coming for what He gives us? -- a lot of people
look to God as a vending machine in the sky -- if we need healing, pull that
lever, and ask God to heal us -- if we need food, expect God to feed us -- if
we need money, ask God to make a way and trust that the money is going to come
-- and, all
of that is true, but Jesus didn’t die on the cross to meet our material needs
-- He died on the cross to give us eternal life and to reconcile us to the
Father -- to restore the relationship with God -- to make it possible for us to
come once again into the presence of God
-- but, are
we seeking God or just what He can give? -- there’s a song out by Natalie Grant
that really touched me the very first time I heard it -- it’s called, “More
Than Anything” -- and the lyrics include this thought:
“Help me
want the Healer, more than the healing -- Help me want the Savior, more than
the saving -- Help me want the Giver, more than the giving -- Oh help me want
you Jesus, more than anything”
-- our
desire should be for Jesus, not for what He gives us -- the crowd that day came
because of the miracles -- because of what Jesus was giving -- they continued
to follow Him, seeking what He could provide -- when all He wanted was for them
to seek Him -- let’s keep that in mind when we come to worship and when we come
before Him in our private times
-- verse 3
3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples.
4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said
to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this
only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
-- there
will be times in our lives and in our churches when God is going to speak --
when He is going to call us to a task that is greater than ourselves -- a task
that seems impossible
-- in this
case, Jesus turned to Philip and said, "Look out at this sea of faces --
they have needs -- they’re hungry -- and I want you to feed them -- how can you
make that happen? -- how can you feed those gathered here? -- where shall we
buy bread for these people to eat?"
-- This was
more than a question -- it was more than a test of faith -- it was a call to
mission -- it was an invitation to join Jesus in ministering to others -- to
this point, the disciples really had not been involved in the ministry of Jesus
-- they had been with Him, but they had not participated -- Jesus was telling
Philip, "I want you to feed My people -- now how will you do it?"
-- take a
moment and just think -- this was an impossible task -- there was no way that
Philip could do this -- none -- and yet Jesus was asking him to do it
-- what is
He asking us to do today? -- what impossible task is He calling us to do? --
this is where faith comes in -- this is where trust comes in -- this is where
we truly say what we believe about God
-- verse 7
7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages[a]
to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
-- Philip missed the point, didn't he? -- Philip was trying
to solve the problem on his own -- He looked at the crowd, he figured up the
cost it would take to feed them, and then he turned to Jesus and said, "It
can't be done -- it’s impossible"
-- we do
that too, don't we -- God calls us to do something and we immediately start
coming up with reasons why we can't do it -- "We don't have the
money" -- "We don't have the people" -- "We don't have the
resources" -- "We don't have the programs" -- "We don't
have the time" -- "We don't have the talent" -- "It can't
be done"
-- Philip
missed the point -- this was a test of faith -- Jesus wanted Philip to say,
"I can't do this, but you can" -- when Jesus asked Philip,
"Where do we go to feed these people?", He wanted Philip to say,
"to You"
-- and when
He calls us to an impossible task -- to do something that we know we can't do
-- He wants us to do the same -- He wants us to turn to Him and say, "We
can't do it -- will You do it through us?"
-- Dwight
L. Moody was a poorly educated, unordained, shoe salesman who felt God calling
him to do the impossible -- God was calling him to preach the gospel -- and
Moody heard that call and said, "I can't do that -- I'm only a shoe
salesman -- I can't speak to people -- I don't have any talent -- it's
impossible"
-- but then
he went to hear the great Charles Spurgeon speak, and as he listened to the
message from Charles Spurgeon, Moody realized something -- "it was not Mr.
Spurgeon, after all, who was doing the work -- it was God -- and if God could
use Mr. Spurgeon, why should He not use the rest of us -- and why should we not
all just lay ourselves at the Master's feet and say to Him, 'Send me! Use
me!"
-- Moody
went on to become one of the world's greatest evangelists -- and the ministry
that he started continues to this day -- all because he realized, "I can't
do it, but God can" -- and he stepped out in faith and said, “God, I trust
you to do the impossible through me”
-- verse 8
8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9
“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far
will they go among so many?”
-- when you read this passage, don't you just feel like
encouraging Andrew along? -- I mean, he has the right idea -- he is looking at
the possibilities -- he knows that the only way this is going to happen is
through Jesus -- he even goes so far as to say, "Here's a boy with five
small barley loaves and two fish..." and you just know that he's going to
go all the way and tell Jesus -- "use them -- multiply them and do a
miracle and feed the crowd"
-- you just
want to stand back and say, "Yes, yes! -- you're going the right way,
Andrew, you're responding in faith -- you're not letting the size of the task
keep you from moving forward -- now just ask Jesus to do something"
-- keep in
mind that Andrew had been with Jesus from the start -- He had seen the water
turn to wine -- He had seen the sick healed -- He had seen people released from
demonic possession -- He knew that miracles happened when Jesus was around
-- but then Andrew says that little
three-letter word that changes everything -- "BUT" -- “here's the
bread and fish...BUT”
-- Andrew once again falls into the
trap of the impossible -- in this case, Andrew is limiting God's ability to
work -- he got so close -- he knew where to turn -- but, truth be told,
Andrew's conception of God was too small
-- In essence, Andrew was saying,
"We've got these five loaves and bread and two fish, BUT not even you can
do anything with them"
-- "BUT" is a ministry killer
-- "BUT" is keeping our churches from being faithful to God's calling
-- "BUT" is keeping us from doing the impossible through God
-- a friend of mine asked me the other
day, "Why don't we see miracles like the Bible describes? -- if God is
real, then why don't we see miracles all over the place?"
-- the answer is because of our
"BUT" -- it's because of us
-- Jesus said that God is always at
work around us and He is always calling us to join Him in His work -- He is
always calling us to do the impossible -- and when we hear His call, what do we
do? -- we count our money -- we check the budget -- we look at the number of
people we have and how busy our calendar is and everything else and we say,
"This is all we have -- we'd like to help, BUT…it's not enough"
-- we limit God and so we limit His
ability to do miracles through us -- not because God can't do them -- but
because He only works through our faith
-- What does this tell us? -- if we
want to live lives of faith -- if we want to experience the miracle of God
doing the impossible through us, then we've got to get off our "BUTs"
and start trusting God
-- verse 10
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in
that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus
then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as
much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples,
“Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they
gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley
loaves left over by those who had eaten.
-- in Mark 8, after Jesus had fed the
7,000 in a similar way, Mark tells us that the Pharisees came up to Jesus and
asked Him for a miraculous sign -- and Mark says, "Jesus sighed
deeply"
-- I just love that picture -- I think
that's probably what Jesus did after testing Philip and Andrew -- I think He
listened to them and heard their doubts and their lack of faith and just sighed
deeply -- you see, Jesus knew what He wanted to do -- He knew what He was going
to do -- He just wanted Philip and Andrew to be the ones who trusted in Him
enough to suggest it
-- and when that didn't happen, I think
Jesus sighed -- I think He does that with us, too -- I think when He calls us
to do something impossible -- when He calls us to a new task or a new ministry
and all we do is say, "BUT," -- I think He sighs -- and then He
either turns to someone else or He does it on His own -- and we're the ones who
miss out
-- in this case, Jesus took over and He
fed the crowd Himself and He showed us what could have been
-- Jesus wasn't asking Philip and
Andrew to feed the people on their own -- He knew they didn't have the
resources -- He knew they didn't have the ability -- He knew it was impossible
for them
-- what Jesus wanted was for Philip and
Andrew to come to Him with what they had and to say, "This is it -- this
is all we have -- it's not enough -- we're not enough -- but we know that you
can take what we have to offer and multiply it and do a miracle through
us"
-- Jesus takes what we have and
multiplies it by faith and produces a miracle every time -- the key to seeing
God do miraculous things through you hinges on two things -- you have to bring
your resources -- and you have to bring your faith
-- your resources aren't enough to get
the job done -- you have to have faith, too
-- on the other hand, your faith is not
enough -- God wants us to offer up what we have -- our time and our money and
our gifts and our talents
-- why do you think God asks us to
tithe -- why does God want your money? -- He doesn't need it -- He owns
everything -- so why does He tell us to bring it? -- because He wants you
invested -- He wants you to offer your money and your time and your talents and
your gifts as a sacrifice in faith
-- it takes both resources and faith to
produce a miracle
-- and when God multiplies our
resources by our faith, the world changes
IV. Closing
-- this miracle was more than just a sign to
the crowd gathered there that day -- it was more than just a sign to Jesus’
disciples -- it was a sign for us -- a message for us
-- Jesus invites us into eternal
life by offering Himself to us as the bread of life -- and, once we have
received Him -- once we have taken of His flesh and become one with Him and one
with each other -- He calls us unto ministry with Him in this world
-- He calls us to do the impossible
-- not on our own -- not in our own strength or with our own resources -- but
with His -- in His power and in His way
-- Jesus
told His disciples and He told us that we would do even greater things than Him
-- get that in your head -- He told us that we would do even greater things
than He did on earth -- but we're not -- just look around
-- the
problem is not with Jesus -- the problem is with us -- we're still walking in
sight and not in faith -- if we can't see how something can be accomplished,
then we don't even try -- Philip and Andrew were ready to give up before Jesus
stepped in -- the church is doing the same thing today -- we’re giving up
because we don’t believe enough to trust that Jesus will step in and do greater
things through us
-- God
wants to take our limited resources and our limited faith and He wants to use
them and us to do miracles in this place and in our lives
-- what
does it take to see a miracle today? -- it just takes trust and faith and
obedience
-- so, as I
close, let me ask you to consider these questions -- What is God asking us to
do today? -- What is God asking you to do today? -- what ministry are you
refusing to do because you think you don't have enough? -- trust God -- trust
Jesus -- and let Him multiply your ministry and your life -- let Him do great
things through you
-- as I
close I want to invite you to respond to God's word -- give Him your BUTs today
-- give Him your "We can'ts" and your “It’s impossibles” -- and leave
here saying, "we can’t, but with You, we can, for all things are possible
with God"
-- let's
pray
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